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FROM AP: 10 Things to Know for Wednesday
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
As the nation tunes in to hear him chart a path for our nation's prosperity, there are three policy prescriptions the President has already endorsed that, if fully implemented, could provide hope for growing the economy in the near-term.
There are immediate, concrete steps the president can announce in tonight's speech which will help struggling homeowners while at the same time stimulating the economy and promoting job creation.
President Obama is going to speak about the economy and foreign policy and many other issues, and a large number of citizens listening and watching will interpret the State of the Union address through a prism of the affective forecasting bias.
The only way to ensure private investors will continue to invest America, and support the high living standards we want, is for Americans to be highly productive. This requires public investments in education, infrastructure, and basic R&D.
His fifth State of the Union speech this week gives President Obama a perfect opportunity to proclaim to all of America that he will preserve the freedom to engage in collective action. It's an important moment for him to say the word 'union' loudly.
President Obama has been focusing his (and therefore America's) attention on immigration, guns, and the environment. All are important. But in my view none of these should be the central theme of his address Tuesday evening.
Given the domination of our political system by big money in this post-Citizens United world, the question is whether it will be possible for the U.S. government to take the large-scale political actions that are necessary to address climate change.
Ideally, it is the silences in the last four SOTU addresses that will begin to be filled in next Tuesday night. The biggest of these silences -- the greatest domestic failure of this would-be progressive president -- has been on the issue of poverty and the need for anti-poverty programs.
Getting a deal on immigration will be tougher than the fiscal cliff, but it is still possible if both President Obama and the Republicans learn from past successes, do not repeat missteps and seek to truly make this a win-win effort.
Perhaps it isn't that Americans are and always have been "center-right" in their beliefs; but simply that our constitutional machinery has made our country so.
President Obama's second inaugural may well be most remembered for the words he said rather than the policies he promoted. To friend and foe alike, the President has announced the new terms of the 21st century political discourse.
Obama's words regarding climate change will soon be tested when he decides whether or not to approve the Keystone XL pipeline that will carry tar sands from Canada to the Gulf Coast. His green energy agenda could be defined by this decision -- even though any action is still months away.
As President Obama prepares for his State of the Union address, there are some critical issues he must confront not only using the bully pulpit of the world's stage, but also through concrete policy development during his second term .
Many Democrats are celebrating the results of the last election as a reflection that the progressive viewpoint is where the majority of citizens want to go. This is foolhardy and creates a tremendous opportunity for Republicans.
Despite often nice-sounding rhetoric from the president, this administration has continued with a wide range of policies antithetical to progressive values.
As a father and as a president, Obama has humanized and deepened the image of black men. In all of the unforeseen challenges ahead in this second term, domestic and foreign, I hope he continues to lead with his heart.
